The Last of the Agents Pt III: The Menace
by Staligarde
Summary: The continuation of The Last of the Agents Pt. II: Second Wind. The aliens are now the least of their worries. A new threat has appeared…and the situation is more complicated than any of them could ever have imagined...
1. First Encounter

Disclaimer: I do not own Maplestory.

Thanks to everyone who have reviewed my first two stories: FbLeSean, CosmicShield, Skill Of Dagger, WildOrion, AnonFan, and KingofDits, as well as (no name given).

Special thanks to Fifteen Tails for reviewing virtually every chapter that can be reviewed of my story so far.

(Names underlined are signed reviewers)

Author's Note: "This" is why I had a "sort of" in the summary about Part II. The start of this takes place a week or so after Part II. And the six primary characters all have a level around 200.

By the way, this is also why I had not placed a "complete" on Part II for such a long time.

Chapter 1: First Encounter

The sun was just rising over the tall buildings of the Omega Sector, just a small bit of it above the giga-watt laser. A minute shadow was being cast over the green grass of the Omega Sector, which Phil was standing in. Half of his body was in the shadow, and another half was in the sunlight. He was looking out towards the sea, lost in his own thoughts. He shifted his view downwards.

_The grass has grown a lot since I first came to the Omega Sector, learned about the Agents, and began my training,_ he thought. It was slightly above his knees. He wondered who mowed the grass. Maybe Marco. And maybe he didn't do it anymore when he began training him. He looked at himself. _I've advanced a lot, too._

He had reached a level where, at the previous time, he had doubted whether he really could attain. And even before, he hadn't had the slightest idea that it was possible, that it could be even _dreamed_ of.

_But…why me? Why am _I_ the one to be bestowed this great power?_ A small breeze came that lifted a few strands of his hair and caused a few blades of grass to dance around in their set positions.

He noticed that the sun had climbed to a spot where his body was now completely in light.

_Not everyone can be…free._

He watched a cloud pass by, which had no distinct shape. It looked as if it would block the sun, but it passed only as a tangent to the primary light source.

_How does one become…free?_

He turned, left his spot, and went inside the Omega Sector building.

-X-

"You know," said Evelyne, "It's been very peaceful these days. I mean, no more assaults for the Grays of the Three-Eyed Freaks. No more explosions, no more viruses sent. By the way, you guys got any lemonade? I stopped drinking beer after you said that it was a waste product of prokaryotic bacteria."

Phil pulled out a can of lemonade from the fridge and handed it to Evelyne. "Careful. It'll make you go hyper if you still have a lot of mana reserves."

"I spent the last 30 minutes trying to get my Dragon Green Sleeve back from Celina. I think I've used plenty of mana chasing her around with Haste and Flash Jump." She drank all of the lemonade in one gulp.

"So," said Phil as he watched Steven and Josh. "You guys finally managed to get your hands on some poker cards, huh?"

"Yeah," replied Josh. "We got some from Kyrin. I bet 5,000 mesos."

"Well, that's 5,000 mesos that you're going to lose." Replied Steven. Steven had been winning virtually every single round that had been going on since the two had started playing, and had a huge pile of mesos. Josh had almost no mesos on his side. Steven laid down his hand.

"Full House."

"I've got two pairs." said Josh, laying down his hand.

"That's not two pairs, Josh," said Phil, looking over the cards. "That's four Aces."

Josh looked at his cards, realizing that Phil was right.

"So I win?" asked Josh.

"Well, yeah," replied Phil. At hearing that, Josh happily raked in his 5,000 mesos as Steven grumbled something inaudible.

Just then, Brent burst through the door, panting.

"What's wrong?" asked Phil. "Aliens chasing you?"

"Maybe," replied Brent. Phil, Steven, Josh, and Evelyne exchanged looks.

"Come with me," said Brent. Dr. Kim says he wants everyone in the Command Center."

"Why didn't he come? And where's Celina?"

"That's the reason why he wants everyone in there. Hurry!" Sensing the urgency, everyone followed Brent.

"… there are currently hundreds of monsters swarming and attacking Kerning City. One eyewitness says that they came out of the Subway. Most of the 4th jobbers say they have never seen some of the monsters before…"

The whole thing was in real time. On the screen, it showed a huge mob of monsters, and boy, did they look mean. There seemed to be an infinite amount, supposedly coming from the Subway. Nightlords, Shadowers, Archmages, Bishops, Bowmasters, and all other classes were coming from both sides of Kerning City to battle the threat. Arrows, bullets, shurikens, and spells were flying everywhere. There was also this monster that looked like a reverse yeti running around. In fact, other than the ones that came from the Masteria Jungles, Mountains, and Highlands, that was the only monster the adventurers had ever really seen. They called it Bigfoot.

"… New Leaf City is where they are said to first have been spotted. Everyone that was in New Leaf City is now evacuated and taking refuge in Kerning City. Stirgeman, would you like to tell us what you saw?"

The camera now changed over to Stirgeman. It only showed his top half, since he has lost his pants a few months ago, and his last pair no longer fit him. That was what he said to everyone.

"…Well, they seem to have come from the newly discovered Phantom Forest. Some of them I recognize, since I've been there once or twice. But the others… there is no word for the. Anyway, the first thing that was wrecked was the limo that took people to the Haunted House. Unfortunately, there were just too many of them. Even with my crime fighting abilities, I could not take on all of them…"

The camera turned back to the reporter. Just as she was about to speak, there was a scream, and the camera looked as if it had been dropped. Then it moved back up again, but this time there was a hissing sound:

_Resistance is useless… your forces shall fall before our might! _

There was a crunching sound, and then the screen went blank, with only static.

Dr. Kim quickly spoke. "Your mission is to go to Kerning City and get rid of the mob. Aid the Adventurers. Eliminate the threat before Kerning City falls apart, and the monsters spread to other places."

All six of them nodded. Dr. Kim handed each of them a warp card. "Use the warp portal to get to the Nautilus Port, and head to Kerning City."

"We'll never make it there in time!"

"You will with your motorcycles." The Agents had not noticed before, but the six cylinders were placed neatly against each other.

"I would advise to use as few functions on the motorcycles as possible," Dr. Kim said to them. "It would be best for the fewest possible number of people to know about us."

The team nodded, quickly grabbed their "vehicles" and went through the portal.

"Good luck."

They managed to arrive at Kerning City in three minutes, due to large traffic. When they arrived, the entire place was in mayhem. Attacks went every which way; with both sides losing forces and having more reinforcements arrive. The Agents weren't here to make a big scene; they were just here to turn the tide of the battle, and to make sure Kerning city didn't get destroyed and turned to rubble. No one really noticed them when had arrived; both sides were too busy fighting.

"Let's get this party started," said Phil. All of them cast every supportive skill they knew. Phil then whipped out his Void Hunter.

"Soul Arrow…Arrow Vanquisher!"

Orange arrows, just like those from Arrow Eruption, exploded upwards from the ground, though this time it was on a much wider scale, with a much higher kill rate. Both demons and adventurers alike turned to look at the new arrival. Josh stepped forward and shouted "Chaos Storm!" and fired for a second. However, one second was all he needed, as Josh fired 100 arrows the time a Bowmaster fired eight.

Meanwhile, Phil loaded a rocket magazine into his Laser Rifle. He fired, and the rockets, trailing bright red and orange flames, flew into the mob of demons. They impacted against a Gryphon and a few of the other monsters and exploded, killing even more monsters. The demons and Bigfoot noticed them by now, and turned their attention to the six. Now the mob had been separated into two groups: one attacking the Adventurers, and the other focused on the Agents.

**{You guys take on Bigfoot from both sides. I'll take care of this mob.}**

The others nodded, and headed off. Phil raised his weapon and shouted "Laser Charge… Laser Drill!" A beam of light sliced through any demons that were not blown up by the rocket. Unfortunately, even more monsters were coming out of the Subway. There seemed to be no end to them.

"Rapid Blast!" he shouted. His weapon had become a machine gun, firing a dozen rounds per second. He swept his weapon across the battle field, striking even more monsters. He rushed over to the "spawning site" and used Laser Charge once more. However, this time, his attack wasn't Laser Drill.

"Power Stance… Laser Blast!" The Subway rocked violently, and there was a huge cloud of smoke. This time, he did not suffer from the recoil, which was very fortunate for him, because the battle between his comrades and Bigfoot had just moved behind him in the last few seconds.

-X-

"Soul Charge, Soul Driver!" shouted Brent, driving his Blue Screamer into Bigfoot. Bigfoot flinched, giving Josh time to respond with Hurricane.

**{Get out your Laser Rifles and surround Bigfoot,}** said Steven.

The others nodded. Before Bigfoot or the leprechaun realized what was happening, they pulled out their weapons and shouted "Rapid Blast!" in unison, and innumerable lasers struck the beast from all direction. This severely injured Bigfoot, though he wasn't down yet. He stomped the area, sending all five of them flying backwards.

**{Lure him over here,}** said Brent.

"Here" happened to be just in front of the Subway, right behind where Phil was standing.

**{I wonder what they made the Subway of,}** joked Phil.

**{Just get over here and help us!}** shouted Brent.

Phil turned around, and standing right behind him was Bigfoot. Sheathing his Laser Rifle, he pulled out his Lunar Shooter.

"Flamethrower!" A huge wave of fire burst out of his gun and burned Bigfoot. Raising his hand, he shouted "Air Strike!" A half dozen Gaviotas appeared out of thin air, and unleashed their cargo on Bigfoot in succession.

**{His weakness is fire!}** shouted Celina

**{Roger that,}** replied Phil. _I guess we should've figured that out a lot sooner, since it's a lot like a Yeti... but these days, you can't really assume anything._

He pulled out his Laser Rifle. "Heat Wave!"

"Meteor Shower!"

"Fire Charge, Charged Blast!"

"Flaming Star!"

"Flamethrower!"

"Phoenix, Ranger's Inferno!"

Bigfoot was completely smeared with fire from all directions, as Phoenix covered from above. Bigfoot let out a massive roar. It was severely wounded, though not yet out of the fight. The leprechaun riding on it swung its lollipop weapon, and it struck Phil. He was thrown like a rag doll and was sent flying backwards and crashed into the "No Bicycling" sign and broke it.

{Didn't like that sign much anyway. Contradicts to our motorcycles.} He muttered.

Before his teammates could ask if he was all right, he leaped forward and lunged at Bigfoot. However, he had already switched weapons, and his Lunar Shooter was now an Astral Blade.

"Flame Charge, Savage Blow!" He shouted. His Astral Blade was suddenly alive with leaping flames, and launched six consecutive hits towards Bigfoot.

**{Let's finish this,}** said Josh.

The Phoenix dived down once more and struck down Bigfoot as there was a shout of "Fire Storm!" and flaming arrows slammed straight onto Josh's target, although not before the leprechaun swung it's "weapon" once more, and struck down Evelyne. She went flying backwards and crashed into a building, shattering a window, bounced off, and landed on the ground, unconscious.

Phil rushed over to her. **{She's severely wounded. She didn't have Meso Guard on, did she?}**

**{I think it expired right before Bigfoot hit her,}** replied Celina.

He looked over her. **{She's bleeding. We need to get her over to Niora Hospital!}**

**{Copy that.}**

The Agents looked around. Most of the monsters were destroyed, and the original Adventurers that had come to fight the monsters had finished off the last of the monsters, and were staring at the Agents in disbelief of being able to do all of that they had just done.

When they entered Niora Hospital, they didn't see a doctor. Just Jane Doe in there. He was still dressed in patient's clothing, though there was something eerie about her.

"What do you need?" asked Jane Doe.

"Someone's been hurt," replied Phil. "Do you know how to operate any of this machinery?"

"A little," she responded.

A few minutes later, they had Evelyne was on the bed and hooked up to the machines. Phil looked at the readings.

"Her… heartbeat is slowing down. She has lost so much blood." There was barely a pulse.

_She…she can't die._

All five of them suddenly found the answer at the same time. They simultaneously walked up to Evelyne and spoke in unison.

"Mitosis."

Suddenly, her bloodstream was alive with cell activity as all of her red blood cells began dividing furiously.

"I… I don't believe it," Muttered Jane Doe. In no time at all, her heart beat was back to normal. However, she was still unconscious.

Phil looked at the machinery. None of the readings had changed. He tapped it. The dials fluctuated wildly, followed by a weird whining noise. Then the whole thing shut down.

"Hey, this isn't even working at all!"

Brent came over and looked at it. "You're right."

"Ooops," said Jane Doe quietly, not that she could she could have spoken any louder.

Phil nodded, and spoke to the rest of his comrades. "I just got a message from Dr. Kim. I'm going to head through the Subway to New Leaf City. The Subway is said to be completely out of order, and there were no vehicles passing through the area at the time of the invasion. Therefore, I should be able to make it through. I'm going to find out what is behind all this."

"I'm going with you," said Brent eagerly.

"No. I'm going alone," was the defiant reply.

"But…you'll need backup," protested Brent.

Phil shook his head. "Two people are easier to be detected than one. When Evelyne wakes up, tell her the same thing. Don't follow me. If you want to back me up, stay here."

Everyone (who was conscious) watched him leave the Niora Hospital. Nobody said a word.


	2. Cleanup

Disclaimer: I do not own Maplestory

Ch. 2: Cleanup

The subway was dark. That much could be said. It was a huge wreck as well. And of course, none of the vehicles were working, either because it itself was sliced in half, and/or because the rails themselves had been sliced in half. The lights weren't working either, so Phil found himself stumbling all over the place and using his Sunspear, which he thought was the best form of his weapon during this time, as a sort of a crutch. He considered activating a small fire skill to illuminate the area, but ultimately decided against it, because he might instead burn end up everything in sight. He would then have to use a wide range ice spell to reverse it, but would probably overdo it, and freeze everything in sight. And then, he would have to melt the ice, so he would have to use a fire spell to melt the ice, and it could probably make a huge flood, and even it didn't, more fire would be needed to evaporate the water; but he might overdo that fire skill, and need another ice skill to undo that…

That thought aside, before he left Kerning City and entered the subway, he had met several citizens from New Leaf City. Most noticably were The Glimmer Man, Professor Foxwit, and the Sheriff.

_"How's that Marco man?" The Glimmer Man asked Phil, as he was the one who had "dealed" arms with the Omega Sector._

_"Uhm...well, there was this big fight, and he, well..." There was a long pause. " And, uh, passed away."_

_"Oh," He replied. "Sorry to hear that. But you know that nobody lives forever. There will be a time when I will be too old to forge weapons like these," he said, pointing to the Astral Blade that Phil had in his hand._

_Just then, another person walked up._

_"Here, sonny," said the person who was referring to Phil. "My name is Proferssor Foxwit. I want you to have this." He produced a shield. "It's a Black Phoenix Shield."_

_"Uhm, are you sure? We just met." Phil asked, his arms not moving, and extremely reluctantly to take the so called "Black Pheonix Shield."_

_"Son, when you hold a weapon that's custom made by the Glimmer Man, you radiate nothing but virtue, other than power."_

_Phil glanced at the Glimmer Man._

_"This will accompany your Blade. You're a Warrior, right? You know that the Glimmer Man only deals these his custom made weapons to specific people. And by specific people, I mean that he doesn't just trade with anyone who has the money. He has to make sure if they're knowledgable enough, if they have a good at heart and a good mind; besides, several of the things you carry seem pretty futuristic. I've been looking for someone to give it to; I myself have no use for it." The Professer held it out to him._

_"Uhm, okay," replied Phil, reluctantly taking it. The Proferssor gave a satisfied expression._

Which was how he ended up with another piece of equipment to carry and take care of.

Every once in a while, along his "excursion," he came across a flickering light bulb. It barely helped, and in some ways, was even a hindrance to him, a distraction. It got to the point that he even decided to put on his sunglasses, as he thought _won't make a difference whether I wear these or not_.

Actually, as he remembered a few seconds later, it would make a difference- and in a positive way.

"How could I forget!" he thought out loud. "The night vision in my sunglasses!" He activated the night vision, and the whole place appeared clearer though in a dark shade of green. Now he saw that the rails were bent and twisted every which way possible, and would actually make a good roller coaster. And thankfully, there were no dead bodies.

Although he continued to stumble around, though it kept him from smashing into walls. He rounded a corner, and a huge overturned vehicle blocked his way. He climbed over it, just in case there was a pool of monsters on the other side. Fortunately, there were none. The same vehicle also continued to block one half of the "road", causing the path to become even narrower. As he rounded another corner, he bumped into something hard. _Another huge piece of scrap metal_, he thought. However, he was quick to discover that this "giant piece of scrap metal" had legs and four arms, each holding a different weapon.

For the last of the people he met, he had consulted the Sheriff about what monsters inhabited the place. One of the many things she had shown him was a picture of this, which was known as a Crimson Guardian, one of the most dangerous. He had expected them, but not this soon.

The Crimson Guardian slashed at him, but he ducked, and instead, it smashed a window of the train, leaving another wreckage of shattered glass.

"Dragon Buster!" he commanded, striking his roadblock three times. His enemy seemed mostly unfazed, as if the attack never happened. It slashed at him again, but once again it missed its target, and instead made a huge gash in a wall. Even without being hit, he could sense the massive power the creature possessed. The gruesome figure struck at him a third time. With no time to dodge, he held his weapon in a defense position. However, the force of the attack sent him flying backwards as he crashed into the wall, making the gash even bigger and deeper and wider.

Quickly recovering from the surprise, he got back up and Healed himself. Holding his weapon parallel to the ground, he yelled "Rush!" and charged towards the monster. The monster was huge, with heavy weapons and armor. But instead, it felt like pushing a whole truck load of them. Along with the truck. And that was exactly what he was doing. Instead of one Crimson Guardian, there were more- more than a truck could carry, anyway- behind it, waiting to kill whoever opposed them.

He teleported backwards and muttered "Piercing Arrow." Even as he gathered energy and the arrow began to materialize, the monsters once again began to advance. However, before they got in attacking range, he unleashed the bolt, and it sliced through several of the grotesque figures. Unfortunately, there were more Crimson Guardians than the bolt could slice through. The Crimson Guardians in the back were now marching forward, and, to some point, enraged. He sheathed his weapon and pulled out his Laser Rifle.

"Laser Charge… Laser Drill!" A beam of light was fired from his Rifle and cut through the remaining monsters. He gave a sigh as he looked around. He had completely lost sense of direction during the battle, but luckily, the computer in his watch hadn't. It gave him the correct course, and he went in that direction.

_Hopefully, these are the last of them._

-X-

Several, monotonous minutes later, he finally saw sunlight, signifying the end of the subway. He climbed out and took a breath of fresh air as he looked around the wrecked New Leaf City. He saw that several of the stands had been overturned, the contents of the boxes scattered all over the place. He stared at Bigger Ben- the hands of the clock had been bent and twisted to a point that it was virtually impossible to tell the time, though miraculously, the gears themselves seemed to still be moving, as the hands moved in a speed appropriate to their lengths (or at least, what was left of them.)

Turning to his left, he first went through the Masteria Jungles and Masteria Mountains, cleaning out whatever monsters he saw: I. AM. ROBOTs, Electrophants, Gryphons and the like. After several more monotonous minutes, he finished his "task." After the long trek through the Jungle Fields, he returned to the New Leaf City Town Center and plopped himself on top of one of the potion boxes and rifled through the one next to him. He pulled out a Pure Water and drank it all in one gulp, and headed towards Bigger Ben. He swatted past several Killa Bees as he went into the many different corridors and chambers and cleaned out whatever monsters were there. Finally, after he killed the last Killa Bee in the Soul Corridor, he headed towards the Wolf Spider Caver. Poking his head inside, he saw a bunch of Wolf Spiders hopping around as if they were dancing.

He hopped inside, teleported to a nearby ledge, and holding his Andromeda Bow, cried out "Arrow Rain!" The attack hit several of the monsters and turned their attention to him. Aiming his weapon at them, he shouted "Hurricane!" and mowed down the group that was eagerly coming to meet him. Flash jumping to another ledge, his weapon now a Celestial Staff, he shouted "Chain Lightning!" giving the Wolf Spiders the shock of their lives, killing some and short-circuiting others. The attack carried from Spider to Spider, attacking more of them than he had planned.

_The more, the merrier._

He quickly burned up the rest with fire strike.

_Looks like my job is done here. _

He left the Cavern and exited Bigger Ben. When he reached the ground, he turned in the direction of the Phantom Forest. To his dismay, the car that took people between the two places was overturned, windows shattered, one of the doors had broken off and fallen onto the ground, and two of the wheels were even missing. It was a complete wreck. At least he hoped on getting a free ride.

_Don't bring your motorbike with you…It isn't compatible with the subway._ He sighed. It was going to be a long walk.

-X-

After even more monotonous minutes of walking, Phil finally reached the place where the wreck was supposed to take him. He noted the lack of sunlight in the area, the contrast of brightness between New Leaf City and the Phantom Forest. Just as he was about to enter the forest and climb up the so-called Bent Tree, he heard a scream. Stopping him in mid-step, he turned toward the direction of the sound. Phil heard another scream; it was coming from inside the creepy looking house that was just outside the creepy looking forest.

He ran over to the door, which, not surprisingly to him, was locked. Another scream burst out from inside. He sighed. Taking a step back, he lifted his Void Hunter and shouted "Dragon Pulse!" The arrow, with the front having the shape of a dragon's head in the color green, tore up the ground before him, sending fallen tree branches and dirt into the air. The door burst open, and the first thing he saw a group of four Adventurers attempting to fend off a bunch of monsters. Rushing inside, he saw dolls of different sizes walking around, doll heads and books flying around the room, and Jack-in-the-Boxes hopping around with the boxes open. The MOMENT he stepped inside, the broken door repaired and sealed itself back up and locked itself. The foursome was so busy fighting they didn't even notice the newcomer or anything else that had happened.

"STRAFE!" he screamed. Six spectral bolts flew through the air and shot down a book that was overdosed on helium. The other four froze and turned their attention to him.

"Look! A Sniper!" cried the Cleric. She had Arc Staff and wore a Red Matty, Purple Moonlight, Red Moon shoes, and a Red Noel.

"I don't think he is just a Sniper," said the Crossbowman as he himself attacked another flying head with Double Shot. He had a Silver Crow, a Green Distinction, White Piette, and Blue Steel-Tipped Boots, and wore Blue Scalers. The two of them quickly ducked under a table as another book came flying over in there direction.

"Why? He knows strafe. And Snipers and Rangers know strafe."

"But he fired six arrows."

"So?"

"Strafe only fires four."

"So you're saying he's a Marksman?"

While the two of them were still arguing about what the newcomer exactly was, they suddenly heard a shout of "Incoming!" from another one of their comrades- he was obviously a Warrior, though it could be argued whether he was a Page or a Fighter, for he carried a Sparta, and until he cast the supportive skill that set the two types apart, it would take a lot of guessing.

Another book was making its way towards them, and there was another shout of "Inferno!" and the book was incinerated.

"Don't Rangers use Inferno?" Asked the Cleric with a smirk on her face.

"Yeah, but he came in holding a Cro…" he looked at the man dressed in black. "Bow?"

"Hurricane!" screamed Phil as a violent storm of arrows ripped through the air, killing anything and everything in the way.

"Ha! Only Bowmasters know Hurricane!" She said triumphantly. "And you really need to work on you counting skills."

The Warrior just sighed, showing her that he was no longer interested.

"Anyway," said the Cleric, throwing back her hair. "I was just running out of mana potions to heal you guys."

Phil turned towards them and flung two Power Elixirs in their direction. "Mind if you help me some more?" He asked dryly. The two quickly consumed the potions as they came out of their hiding place and swiftly attacked more walking dolls and flying books.

Meanwhile, the other two- the warrior that had shouted the "warning," and a Bandit, who was busily stabbing at monsters, were now the ones arguing about the newcomer. Phil's weapon had just changed into a Crescent Moon, though all they knew was that it was a two-handed axe, and was now cutting up dolls, books and other monsters.

"Magic Crash!" He commanded, dispelling all of the surrounding monsters' buffs. Now, a group of Hoodoos and Voodoos were making their way towards him.

"Combo Attack… Coma!" he shouted, stunning the hideous dolls. He finished off the ones he hadn't killed with shout.

-X-

"Wait a minute… is he an Archer or a Warrior?" asked the Cleric as she healed her friends.

"Beats me," replied the Crossbowman. "Double Shot!"

All of a sudden, Phil shouted "Avenger!" as an oversized shuriken materialized and sliced through a dozen dolls. Leaving him with a dozen flying heads to deal with.

The two looked at each other with confused looks and asked in unison "Hermit?"

"Puppet!" Phil commanded, as all the floating heads gathered around the straw man.

"Arrow Rain!" Dozens of blue shards rained down upon the group, destroying them.

"See!" said Miranda. "He's a Ranger. Or Bowmaster."

Finally, the action began to die as the number of monsters decreased, and the Phil and the original prisoners of the house calmed down.

Phil looked around. The house was just as a wreck as New Leaf City. The four Adventurers- all level 40ish or 50ish- gathered around him.

"Soooo…"he asked. "How did you guys end up in here?"

"OK, so like, we were training in the Phantom Forest, hunting the Leprechauns and Jr. Wraiths, getting lots of mesos and hoping to strike it rich finding Steelies," Said Miranda. "But then like, we heard these footsteps and saw these freakish looking monsters, and we knew that we could never stand up to then, so we were like, 'Oh my God, run!' So we turned and ran, and decided to hide in this house wait until they passed. And when the noise of the footsteps faded…"

"And then we tried opening the door again, but…" cut in Drew.

"Shut up, Drew," Miranda said, turning to him. "Anyway," she said, turning back to their rescuer, "we tried opening the door, but it was like, completely sealed up. And just a few moments after we tried doing so, there were like, a zillion monsters appearing, and of course, we had to fight them, and so we were like, stuck in this place while having to fight off all these scary monsters.

"So you guys were in Phantom Forest trying to get rich?" asked Phil.

"And looking for Lucky Charms," added the Crossbowman.

"Guess they didn't bring us much luck, huh," muttered the Warrior.

"At least we're still alive," retorted the Cleric.

All this time, the Bandit had been silent. Phil turned to him. "Do you have anything to say?" he asked him.

The Bandit remained mute.

"I feel like I've been in here for an hour," the Cleric cut in.

Glancing at his watch, Phil replied "You probably have."

"All you had to do was heal, Miranda," the Warrior said to the Cleric. "I had to keep attacking monsters to keep you from dying from your ridiculously loowww HP."

"What did you say, Drew!" shouted the Cleric named Miranda. "If it hadn't been for me, you wouldn't be talking right now!"

The two of them began arguing and Miranda started beating Drew with her Arc Staff. Phil quickly broke them up. "The main thing is that all of you are alive. Now, I think it's time for …" He didn't get a chance to finish his sentence. Just then, there was a huge rumbling sound as a huge figure, obviously a doll, stepped out and joined them in the main hall.

"Oh my…" gasped the Bandit.

Phil turned around to face the monster. And he sighed. _Another huge fight._

-X-

"Get behind me, guys," Phil commanded to the foursome, and they quickly obeyed. A split second later, the doll launched a blast of dark energy at them.

"Power Guard!" he commanded as he lifted his Black Phoenix Shield. The attack struck the shield, and all of the attack was blocked, as Guardian activated as well.

The hulking figure was moving slowly towards them- slowly, but steadily, as Drew began screaming "We're gonna die! We're gonna die! We're gonna die!"

Needing to concentrate, he shouted at him "Shut up! We're _not _going to die. Now be quiet as I kill it. If you want to help me, attack. If you're scared, then be quiet!" and at the same time lifted his Astral Blade.

All of a sudden, a piano materialized above them. It was evident that it was done by the monster to crush them. Phil commanded "Force Field" as a translucent barrier was created protecting them. Drew looked up and slowly said "Holy Cr-"

Phil quickly cut in with "Charge!" The instrument shattered against the barrier and his weapon was illuminated. Now it was his turn to make things fall.

"Heaven's Hammer!" he commanded. A huge ray of holy light descended upon their enemy.

The enemy was clearly dazed by the attack, but was for from being defeated. The doll began moving forward them, as three arrows were fired from behind Phil against the monster as he was recharging from the attack.

Still holding his Astral Blade, he shouted "Rush!" as he smashed against the monster, pushing it back to the other side of the room. This was followed by "Brandish" and "Intrepid Slash!" striking the giant half a dozen times.

Teleporting backwards, he made his Astral Blade transform into a Void Hunter and shouted "Dragon Pulse!" The force of the arrow pushed the doll even further, as it crashed through the wall.

The doll, unfortunately, quickly recovered and dealt a savage blow to him, knocking him backwards.

The Crossbowman gasped and ran after him. Shouldering his Silver Crow, he shouted "Iron Arrow!" as the spinning bolt bore a hole through the creature, stopping it in its tracks.

This caused Miranda to shout "No!" and run after him, attacking the monster with Magic Claw and Holy Arrow the entire time.

As Miranda left her spot, Drew ran after her, shouting at her to come back.

And this caused the Warrior to chase after the other three.

"HP Recovery" muttered Phil as whatever damage he had taken from the blow was removed when he had regained consciousness. He realized that the foursome had now come up. Before he could stop them…

"Ground Smash, Power Strike!"

"Savage Blow!"

"Holy Arrow, magic claw!"

"Double Shot, final attack!"

The doll, by now, had taken serious damage, though not yet fully defeated. But Phil knew he had to end the fight quickly. He quickly considered his options. He could use his Andromeda Bow, using Dragon Pulse, then Chaos Storm. The kids around him would only learn one knew thing. But it would take a tremendous amount of mana.

He could also use Rapid Blast with his Laser Rifle. It would take a minimal amount of mana. But it would reveal a lot more information to the kids than he could afford to, as they would see a completely new weapon in action. They would probably ask a lot of questions about it, too, not that they already had their thoughts about it.

He made his decision. His weapon transformed into an Andromeda Bow, and he commanded "Dragon Pulse!" as the arrow with green energy in the shape of a dragon's head slammed into the monster, pushing it back even further.

Taking a deep breath, he screamed "CHAOS STORM!" as hundreds of arrows flew out of his weapon, colliding with and tearing through his target. The other four stared in awe at the attack, for a moment completely forgetting about the battle. The monster was torn apart and, in a flash of darkness, disappeared.

Phil stood there, panting hard. He had fired 500 arrows in five seconds, and it had completely depleted him of his mana reserves. He cast a quick MP Recovery, in case if there were any more monsters running around.

There were none, though now he found himself surrounded by the four "little kids."

"That was awesome— what was that?" asked the Crossbowman, referring to Phil's latest attack.

"You don't want to know," he replied in a quiet voice. "Anyway… I think it's time for you guys to go home, no?"

The other four looked at each other. And then nodded at him. They walked over to the door (which was still locked, it had to be "opened" with brute force.) All five got outside, and of course, it was dark.

"Who—what are you?" asked Miranda.

"Just a stranger passing through," he answered. He looked at the others. Obviously, the other three had the same question as well.

"What level are you?" asked the Crossbowman.

Phil hesitated for a moment, and then replied, "Higher than you."

Just then, he heard Brent's voice through his receiver.

**{Where the hell is he? And why isn't he responding?}**

**{Maybe he doesn't like you anymore,}** he heard Steven laugh.

**{Shut up, Steven. I've known him longer than you have,}** snapped Brent.

**{Maybe he got tired listening to the droning of your dull, monotonous voice,}** Phil heard Steven say.

**{Better than the droning of _your_ dull, monotonous, and _stupid_ voice,}** retorted Brent

**{Guys!}** shouted Phil. **{I'm here! What are you talking about?}**

**{We've been trying to contact you for the last 15 minutes! You weren't responding! Where were you, anyway?}** asked Brent.

**{I was in a…}** he paused for a moment. **{House.}**

**{That must've been some house—we couldn't contact you.}**

**{Actually…It was more like a mansion.}**

**{A mansion? Lucky! I want to come!}**

**{Trust me. You don't want to go into this mansion,}** Phil replied.

**{And what were you going to say?}** asked Phil.

**{Your girlfriend's missing,}** said Brent.

**{I don't have a girlfriend,}** Phil muttered under his breath.

**{Anyway,}** cut in Celina. **{What he means is: Evelyne's missing.}**

**{You sure she isn't in some accidental Darksight mode?}**

**{We've checked everywhere! Twice! Maybe even three or four times! Of course we're sure!}** interrupted Brent.

**{This… is going to be a problem,}** said Phil **{Have you tried calling for her on the link?}**

**{Yeah. And, she, like you, didn't respond}**

**{Oh yeah, one more thing,}** said Celina. **{HQ says that once you enter the Phantom Forest, we can no longer contact you. So you'll be on your own.}**

**{So you guys thought I had entered the Forest, huh?}**

**{Sort of,}** replied Celina

**{Sort of? What do you mean, "sort of?"}**

**{Well… on the satellite, you went to the left of the Phantom Forest,}**

Suddenly, there was a sound of static as he heard Junior Officer Medin's voice cut in: **{Hey, Phil! You alright?}**

**{Yeah. I guess so.}**

**{Have you been told by your comrades that you are no longer able to be contacted after you enter the Phantom Forest?}**

**{Yes, sir,}** he nodded, even though nobody he was talking to could see him do so.

During all that time, the "kids" had been whispering amongst themselves.

"Did you see that?"

"I wonder what level he is."

"I've never heard of 'Chaos Storm'"

"Of course you haven't—that's a 4th job skill."

"Are you kidding? That's not 4th job. More like 5th job."

"There is no '5th job'."

"Says who?"

"Everyone I've met before."

"Well, now you have."

"He says he's just a stranger."

"How do you know if he's not lying?"

"What's that thing on his back?"

"What class is he, anyway? He knows Avenger, Coma, Hurricane, HP Recovery, MP Recovery, Teleport. He could probably take on Zakum by himself."

"Are you kidding? He could probably kill a hundred Zakums by himself."

"Why is he wearing sunglasses?"

"Didn't your mom ever tell you to never trust strangers?"

"Well, he did _save us,_ in case you forgot."

"Why is he dressed in all black?"

"Why won't he tell us his name, or his level, or class, or—"

"Maybe he's on a secret mission to save the world."

"Maybe he's one of those heroes that will bring peace to the world. You know, like a 'Lightbringer'."

"You've been reading waaaayyyy too many fairy tales these days."

"Better than reading nothing."

"Nerd."

"What did you just call me?"

"Calm down. You gotta control your rage."

"I'll show you Rage!"

Phil turned towards them and saw them wrestling and beating up each other.

**{What's that noise?}** asked Steven.

**{The kids I rescued from the House,}** he replied.

All four "kids" suddenly stopped fighting and looked at Phil.

**{Hold on, I have talk to them,}** said Phil. "I think it's time you four to head back to civilization, no?"

"How?" asked Drew. "The limo is wrecked, the subway is wrecked."

Phil produced four wrap capsules. "Take these. They're like return scrolls. They'll send you back to Kerning City."

The foursome stared at the items, then at each other. Each took one of the capsules from his hand.

"Some scroll," Drew muttered under his breath.

**{I'm sending the kids over to you.}**

**{Copy that.}**

As each of them used their capsule, they disappeared from the creepy place and reappeared in Kerning City.

**{I've got the four kids you were talking you about,}** Phil heard Steven say.

**{Alright. Make sure you teach them the right stuff,}** said Phil.

**{Will do.}**

**{I'm going into the Phantom Forest.}**

**{Good luck.}**

**{I'll talk to you when I come back.}** With that, he took his first step into the Phatom Forest.


	3. It Takes One to Know One (Forgetfulness)

Disclaimer: I do not own Maplestory

Author's Note (you don't have to read this if you don't want to): This is something that I have forgotten to state for a (very) long time, which is my fault. When a word like heal or teleport is capitalized in the middle of a sentence, when it usually shouldn't be capitalized, it means that the skill is being used to do the action. However, if it is not capitalized, it just means that the action is happening. For example, when heal is capitalized, it means that the skill Heal is being used to heal. When it is not, it means that the person (or whoever/ whatever is using it) is just, well, healing himself, physically, mentally, etc. This is like when "assassin" is used, it means the "hit-man," the "killer," but when "Assassin" is used, it means the class, the shuriken-do one. Same thing goes for "sniper" and "Sniper." Maybe you haven't even noticed this before, but whatever. (Yeah, I know this sounds weird.) Hope this clears some things up. (Or maybe it just makes things more confusing.)

Ch. 3: It Takes One to Know One (Forgetfulness)

(Yes, this chapter has two chapter names. I couldn't resist putting both in. If you read the chapter, however, you will understand how both names fit.)

* * *

><p>The Phantom Forest was…aptly named, thought Phil.<p>

Although he usually wasn't the type to be scared easily, especially of the dark (like the Subway,) the Phantom Forest gave him the chills. He wasn't sure if it was because he was nervous, or if the place was particularly cold. He had never been here before, anyway. Of course, very few people had been here.

He carried his weapon in the form of the Sunspear, as he had done so in the Subway. He had also remembered to turn on his night vision. Everything he saw was a shade of green, as the human eye can discern more shades of green than any other color.

He stopped and saw a meso bag in the distance. That was strange. Why would people be leaving meso bags in such a haunted and deserted place? And to his knowledge, it seemed to be in a very large quantity…in thousands, not just the dinky tens or hundreds. He had no desire for the money, but decided to examine it anyway.

He heard sound and stopped, shooting quick glances around him. He returned his attention back to the meso bag. Only that it wasn't a meso bag anymore. It was a hideous creature—just like the one that had been riding around atop of the "Bigfoot."

He decided to fight it. "It" didn't last very long.

He continued on, wondering what other monsters and creatures inhabited this place. He had seen several trees—a very large portion of them, had these scary faces drawn on them. He understood why none of the trees had leaves—no light ever reached this placed, since a long time ago. Heck, rain water probably never reached this place either. All the trees were dead, he was willing to bet, a long time ago. But who carved or drew those faces on the trees? Who would spend so much time doing something like that?

Maybe they could've named this place something else, like, Forest of Dead Trees.

A few moments later, he found out that he would have lost whatever he had betted, and why it had not been called "Forest of Dead Trees". One of the "dead" trees with a "carved" face suddenly became very much alive and attacked him.

He was surprised, all right, as he was ensnared by the branches, but he quickly cut himself free with his Sunspear and landed on the ground.

However, the tree had more than just the branches. The roots shot up out from under the ground just as quickly, and knocked him off balance. He regained his balance using his weapon.

His Sunspear transforming into an Astral Blade, he commanded "Holy Charge, Heaven's Hammer!" as blasts of divine light fell around him, killing the "dead" tree. The roots withdrew back into the ground as fast as they had come.

Looking around and making sure everything had returned to "normal," he continued his excursion.

He met a couple Jr. Wraiths, but, because they were Juniors, they were a "junior" problem, as he quickly disposed of them with a quick Ground Smash.

There were also the regular Wraiths, but they didn't pose much of a problem either.

He had looked back at the Bent Tree. They weren't kidding when they had given it that name. He wondered what had caused it end up like that. Was it from a natural cause? Usually, plants would grow towards sunlight, and that was in the direction of New Leaf City, the opposite of the way the tree was bent. Perhaps the trees here grew _away_ from sunlight…

The first real problem didn't come from monsters; he didn't know why, but he quickly discovered that, for some reason, a few of his gadgets began to malfunction. This usually wouldn't be too bad, but he also soon found out about the "Twisted Paths" as some pathways he walked through were closed as the trees moved, and new ones opened. He couldn't find his way by the stars because his view of the night sky was blocked by the masses of the trees, and at that time, the most notable malfunction was the compass. (The GPS wasn't working at all.) He guessed that it was because there was a lot of iron here, mostly in the not-so-far-away mountains.

Or maybe not…

Then, by as much luck as speculation, and he was able to find the right path from a lot of wandering around.

The first problem, from monsters though, was when he heard a stamping of hoofs. He lifted his sunglasses a bit. A pink horse appeared from nowhere, and came charging at him. The rider had a huge sword. What it didn't have, on the other hand—and really needed—was a head.

Phil wasn't really sure what to make of it, other than that it was probably pretty dangerous. He drew his Andromeda Bow, cast his support skills, and sighed. He guessed monsters like these wandered around places like this.

He fired a Hurricane attack at the Headless Horseman, but the rider just sliced apart all of the arrows, and the horse had not stopped. Phil wondered how it was able to see without a head. The horse could see, definitely, but what about the rider?

He turned his Andromeda Bow into the Astral Blade and cast Holy Charge upon it. The Headless Horseman suddenly stopped in its tracks, perhaps because of the charge.

"Charged Blast!" he screamed, as the discharge of holy energy was released from his sword, which almost immediately connected with the monster.

When the light cleared, he wasn't sure what had happened. It clearly didn't kill it, but it certainly had injured it.

Then, something…eerie…happened. A flame erupted from the rider's body and took the shape of a grinning head, with teeth and eyes. But even more, a moment later, the "head" detached from the body, and began floating towards him.

He switched weapons to his Abyss Shooter and fired several bullets at the floating "head." The "head" did not seem to notice the shots, as it continued floating towards him.

He changed weapons again, this time to his Celestial Staff.

"Glacier Chain!"

The attack struck the head of flame and also pulled into towards him.

Changing weapons immediately to his Astral Blade, he cast Ice Charge and followed with Savage blow, then Charged Blow.

He didn't see the flame anywhere when he finished his attack, so he turned his attention back to the horse. Except that it was too late, as it had also been advancing when the "head" had been coming towards him, and now it ran over him. Before he could recover, the man that badly needed a head swung its oversized sword at him, nearly knocking him out. Just as it was about to deliver a final blow, it seemed to be it be something from behind, stunning it, though Phil barely got a glimpse of what happened. This gave Phil enough time to recover from the initial hit.

He cast Super Transformation, then screamed "Snatch, Demolition!" as he, pulled it towards him, stunning it again, then, quite literally, demolished the Headless Horseman, along with the horse, with the blinding consecutive attacks.

After the monsters were gone, all that was left was a broken Jack O' Lantern where the head once was.

_Phantom Forest indeed, _thought Phil as he exited his transformation.

He wondered what other kinds of monsters he would encounter.

-X-

A bit later, he finally reached the beginning of what was the mountain.

He began his climb up the mountain- the Crimsonwood Mountain, it was called. This was when the most notable malfunctions in his gadgets occurred. As he took his first steps upward, he took a glance at the altimeter on his watch-it showed a reading of an elevation 4,000 feet. A while later, after he had climbed a little more, it dropped to below sea level, where it showed that reading for only a split second, and then began to fluctuate wildly.

_Huh?_

He looked at it again, making sure he wasn't hallucinating or something.

_Incoherent mana channels, perhaps?_

Unfortunately, he had no more time to dwell on this problem, as he saw a fresh mob of monsters coming at him, as well as giant rolling-pins attempting to crush him.

-X-

Inside the Crimsonwood Keep, there was a Bishop and a Corsair, who had been recently "employed" by the entities of the Keep. They imbibed the necromancy that was taught to them like no others had done before, rapidly rising up on the levels in only a few days. Only a few minutes ago they had been called to a room for a "conference," and were receiving their orders.

The Corsair had an unnatural silver-black hair that had been most likely affected by the necromancy, as well as blood-shot eyes and was unusually tall. A Dragonfire Revolver rested in his hands.

The Bishop had blue-green hair, although it was difficult to see in the poor lighting. She also had blood-shot eyes, perhaps also due to necromancy. For the Bishop, her hands held a Dimon Staff. She had a blue-green hair that was more green than blue, which miraculously had not been affected by the necromancy. She was shorter than the Corsair who stood next to her, but nevertheless gave the appearance of being tall.

The rest of their features were difficult to see, due to the poor lighting.

"_We do not know how this man has been able to have come so close without us detecting him, or even being able to have progressed this much. However, he is an immediate threat, and must be eliminated._

The Bishop and the Corsair exchanged looks, and then nodded in unison.

_Eliminate him at the Courtyard. He should arrive in a few minutes._

Both nodded again. They walked out, side by side, to eliminate this "threat."

Once they were out of earshot of the entities, they began speaking to each other.

"I'm beginning to wonder if we should have done this, Julian," asked the Bishop.

The Corsair named Julian put his arm around the Bishop. "Of course, my dear. Didn't I ask you before we did this?"

The Bishop gave a slight nod.

"Besides; we can become more powerful than anybody ever was; stronger than anyone who ever existed. Wouldn't you want that?"

There was silence for several seconds, save for the sound of their footsteps.

"But…did we have to do it through this way?" the Bishop asked, finally breaking the silence.

"There was— is— no other way, Amy," replied Julian. Although the Bishop named Amy wasn't sure, she might have heard a sigh that followed the reply.

She herself then gave a sigh that was an unmistakable one, lasting very long. It was not one of regret, or of relief, but something that neither Julian nor even herself could put a finger on.

"We've already advanced so much since the few days we have been here," said Julian. "So much more than if we hadn't taken this path. And remember that we were highly praised about the invasion? Especially about the spells that we were able to conjure that controlled several of the monsters could never be controlled, significantly amplified their powers, especially the Stormbreakers, the Windraiders, the Firebrands, the Nightshadows, the Typhons, and the one with the oversized feet and the monster with a lollipop riding on it. They were able to do miracles they never could have done before."

Amy nodded again.

"But...we still have so much ahead of us. We're both only a few years more than 20. Perhaps we could have achieved the same thing through our original lines of work," replied Amy.

Julian shook his head.

"It would have taken much more time— perhaps in years, or decades. Or, we may never even achieve that power in our life, if not with this path."

Amy glanced at Julian, but said nothing.

They reached the Courtyard a few minutes before the "threat" arrived.

"Stay behind me," ordered Julian. "You support me, and I'll gun him down. Heal me when I'm injured."

They first hid behind the statues that were around the Courtyard. Just a few moments later, they heard a sound that was out in the far distance, still in the Crimsonwood Mountains, but couldn't see anything.

Julian took a glance at Amy. She was just as confused as he was. Maybe more.

Then they saw a burst of white light, slightly at a distance away from the original spot where the "threat" had been. It killed a large number of unidentifiable monsters; Julian only was able to see it due to his exceptional accuracy, and Amy, her extensive training on Arcane Aim.

_He must be pretty strong to be able to have been able come this far,_ thought Julian.

"Should we go down to meet him?" whispered Amy.

Without even looking at her, Julian shook his head. "We'll stand our ground. Besides; we were told to eliminate him at the Courtyard, and that's what we'll do. We'll let the monsters and the Crimsonwood Mountain wear him out first. Then we can surprise him. We want to keep our element of surprise. He won't be expecting us. Not that he knows we 'exist.'"

The "threat" had advanced closer now, so Amy and Julian readied their weapons and cast their support skills.

-X-

Phil wondered how much more of this climbing of this mountain he would have to put up with. And how many more monsters he would have to fight.

The whole thing had not been going well for Phil. He had recently run into several more problems on this "excursion." He had his Laser Pistol with the grappling hook, which was able to pull him up at a few times. As he had discovered, the Laser Rifle also had a grappling hook, and, like the other things on it, was "concealed" (it was very close to where the bayonet was; apparently, Marco had not yet bothered to show him it, as the weapon's other functions were much more useful). However, there were also just as many times when he couldn't find a suitable spot for the grappling hook to latch onto. Double Jump and Flash Jump weren't much help, as those skills were mostly for horizontal distance. He wasn't able to find suitable footholds to Teleport onto. This meant he had to make some himself. Sometimes he would drill or cut one into the rock face. After he drilled some with his Laser Rifle, he sighed, took out his Swiss Army Knife, flipped out the large blade, drew his Nebula Dagger, and began free climbing the tremendously tall cliff, with monsters threatening him the entire time, mostly those that were able to fly or levitate. When he reached the fork, he had actually gone up one path first, turned around and went back, then gone the other way, so he had seen what monsters inhabited both paths. He would have to use the retractable cleats every now and then to keep from slipping, especially when the rock faces were extremely smooth. Depending on where he was, he would transform his weapon into a different form into suit his needs in aid for climbing. He would have to stop momentarily, hang in mid-air, one hand holding onto the Dagger, or whatever weapon it was, and shoot down some monsters with his Laser Pistol with his other hand. When he had reached a certain point, he was able to Teleport or pull himself over onto the top. During his overall "excursion," he had wondered if Brent had secretly followed him, as there were these strange noises, especially those of things being cut with a blade— a sword or an axe, he had guessed. Since he had even turned back, he also went to take a look at some of the trees, which were now a red, or rather, crimson, color, up here, and some of the branches had been cut off by a blade. Although he hadn't seen anybody, he had shouted "Brent, stop playing these games with me." It was very possible that he was hallucinating or something, just as with the altimeter and compass, but everything else he had experienced was very real. And, after all, Brent _had_ insisted on coming with him. But would he still have come after he told him not to?

Out of the blue, after climbing over several cliffs, he noticed something he hadn't before. On the apex of this mountain, there seemed to be this sort of castle. He had been so busy fighting nightmarish monsters and dodging giant rolling-pins that he hadn't had a chance to even take a glance in the direction he was looking at now. But even in the midst of all this, there was something even more bizarre.

The telescopic lenses in his sunglasses had shown him five statues and a better outline of the "castle." However, along with that, the thermo-scanner also registered two "human beings;" at least, that was the shape and amount of heat signatures of the bodies behind two of the statues.

_Very strange,_ thought Phil. _Friend or foe? Most probably foe. Most certainly they—this "castle"—has something to do with that incident in Kerning City. A lot of the monsters I have met across this trip resemble, or are virtually the same as the ones seen during that event. But who knows? They could be prisoners. Or bait. But why would prisoners be kept out here? And why would bait be put _behind _statues?_

-X-

"When should we attack?" asked Amy, uneasy.

"When we see the white of his eyes" replied Julian.

However, they never saw "the white of his eyes." This allowed Phil to attack first.

Out of nowhere, there was a shout of "Arrow Rain!" as hundreds of blue, glowing missiles fell from the sky. The attack hit both of the necromancers, but they were far from defeated.

_Obviously a Bowmaster, _thought Julian.

Julian leapt out of his position and commanded "Flamethrower!" as an inferno burst from his Dragonfire Revolver towards the Bowmaster.

"Blizzard!" they heard the "Bowmaster" counter as jagged ice spikes canceled out Julian's attack.

_Blizzard?_

Before Julian could fire another attack, he heard the newcomer let out a scream of "Dragon Pulse!" as an arrow, also letting out a scream, slammed into him at terminal velocity, causing him to crash into one of the walls of the Crimsonwood Keep.

This made Amy leave her spot and go to tend to Julian, while delivering attacks at the newcomer all the time, though they had little effect on him. He produced some sort of dark shield and shouted "Power Guard!" and "Power Reflection!" It also seemed that Guardian seemed to activate for every few attacks. She herself didn't receive any of the reflected damage, as she was moving the whole time.

_How does a Bowman carry a shield and know a Warrior's skills? _thought Amy.

"I'm all right," mumbled Julian as he picked himself up. The newcomer had Teleported towards them. In addition, he was already preparing for another attack with his sword, as he had Combo Orbs circling him.

_How can…a Bowmaster…use Teleport…let alone Combo Attack?_

Julian commanded "Battleship," hopped into the miniature boat, and began firing the cannon at the newcomer.

For the newcomer, Divine Shield kicked in automatically as a translucent wall appeared around him and absorbed all of the shots from the Battleship, though they weren't really so sure about it. How could such a shield be generated from a Bowmaster? Or Magician? Or Hero?

-X-

Phil had his own worries, too. These two enemies seemed more than just another random group of people. However, he had no more time to think about it, as one of the enemies delivered a spell against him.

"Dispel!" shouted Amy. A black light shot out of the eyes her Dimon Staff directly towards the newcomer. Whatever the defense was, this necromantic dispel should be able to nullify it.

It did. It penetrated the shield and removed it. As if on cue, Julian exited his Battleship and screamed "Absorber!" as a spear of dark energy materialized in his hands, which he launched straight towards the Bowmaster/ Marksman/ Hero/ Paladin/ Magician at once. It hit him, which reduced his HP and MP to one. He was sent spinning and, after several revolutions, landed next to the Thief Statue, nearly unconscious.

"Wait," Julian said to Amy. "We still aren't sure what this man is capable of, or his condition right now. Or even who he is."

The man gave a near inaudible moan.

Julian lifted one hand to Amy, signaling for her to stay behind him. He took a tentative step toward the man, his gun aimed at him the entire time. He couldn't see his weapon anywhere, but had no doubts that it was still near him. After all, the attack never killed anyone; it was actually impossible to do so. It was only if it was chained with the poison could it kill.

The man shifted his body position a bit, making Julian stop.

_He's dangerous…too dangerous to be left alive,_ thought Julian. He had to be killed.

He steadied his gun at the man. "Shadow Blast!" he shouted.

"Iron Curtain!"

A wall of shurikens emerged from thin air, effectively shielding the man from the attack. A moment later, a female with pink hair emerged as well. She wore the same attire as the man. She even had a pair of shades, just like him.

"Philly!" she shouted, running over to the man. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Recovery works pretty well with Heal and MP Recovery, though four seconds can be quite a long time, especially if you're about to get killed, and you have to have enough four seconds to be able to use a skill," replied the man whom she called "Philly".

"How did you get here, anyway?" he added.

"I followed you!" she squealed, jumping up and down. Then, turning angrily at the person who was holding a gun, she shouted, "You meanie!"

"Who the hell are _you_?" he shouted back.

"I'm his girlfriend," she replied, a little too casually, especially at someone who was pointing a gun at her.

Phil had gotten back up by now, and muttered under his breath, "I don't have a girlfriend."

"How…romantic," he replied, sarcasm dripping from his lips, who obviously hadn't heard him.

Amy walked up to Julian and said, in an urgent tone, "Julian. She called him Phil."

Julian, upon hearing at what Amy said, suddenly froze. Then he, relaxed just as quickly.

"Relax," Julian said to Amy. "He could be any Phil in the world. Not the one _we_ know."

"Julian?" asked Phil. Then, without stopping, he looked at the female that was standing by "Julian" and asked, "Amy?"

Nobody spoke for a few seconds.

"Not the one _we_ know?" asked Amy, looking skeptically at Julian.

There was a moment of silence.

"You…you actually _know_ these people?" stammered Evelyne in disbelief.

Phil did not give a reply. He personally did not want to believe it either. But this was all just too real...

All of a sudden, Julian, out of irritation, fired several shots that were neither aimed nor magic assisted. This caused Evelyne to begin attacking Julian, which made Amy run and Teleport over towards them and attack Evelyne and assist Julian, prompting Phil to charge over and attack Julian and Amy and assist Evelyne. By one way or another, Phil wound up attacking Amy, and Evelyne ended up fighting Julian.

Julian was blasting showers of fire and ice at Evelyne and called upon Air Strike attacks, which she either dodged with rapid speed or Darksight, or blocked with Dark Flare or Shadow Shifter. Evelyne, who had cast Shadow Partner, would retaliate with Triple Throw, Avenger, or Ninja Ambush, only for the stars or ninjas to be shot down with Julian's Rapid Fire, Invisible Shot, and Grenade attacks.

Meanwhile, Phil was attacking Amy with his Astral Blade, and Amy parried with her Dimon Staff with surprising proficiency, especially for a Bishop.

Amy Teleported to a spot where she was far enough from Phil's close range sword attacks and commanded "Black Arrow!" as an arrow that was true to its name appeared in her right hand and simultaneously equally dark bowstring also began to form on the staff. She loaded her "bow" it and released the "bowstring" at Phil.

"Serenity!" countered Phil. From Amy, it looked just like a Paladin's Divine Shield...except that it was a lot stronger. The attack seemed to merely bounce of the defense.

Amy fired several more of the dark arrows, but none penetrated the holy shield.

"My turn now," said Phil, raising his sword. Only that it wasn't a sword any more. It was a bow.

"Soul Arrow, CHAOS STORM!" he screamed. Hundreds of spectral arrows flew from his bow at an incredible speed, slamming into Amy and tearing at her. She landed on a spot that was several feet away from where she had originally stood. She was able to cast Heal a few times, but soon after was hit by a Double Uppercut attack by Phil who had Teleported towards her. She fell limply to the ground, though still a little conscious.

Evelyne was still dueling with Julian. Neither was able get past each other's attacks; they were just too fast for each other, as both knocked down, blocked, or dodged each other's shots.

_Something else then,_ thought Evelyne. She dodged a few more bullets from Julian and knocked off another shot with a Triple Throw. _I need to get closer to him..._

Unexpectedly, Evelyne leaped forward, whipped out a dagger, and began screaming "Savage Blow!" launching a barrage of dagger strikes against Julian. She stole a glance at Phil and the female called Amy.

He had her raised slightly above the ground, was clutching her by the throat with his left hand, and had her against pinned against the wall. She had dropped her staff, which as only a few inches away from her, and was attempting to break his iron grip with both her hands, but to no avail. His Astral Blade was drawn and raised to her throat.

Evelyne returned her attention to fighting Julian. She had been hit by a Homing Beacon from Julian, and was going to take heavy damage if she didn't act fast. She gave a cry of "Smoke Shell!" as she disappeared in a cloud of smoke. She stole another glance at her teammate.

The blade of the sword just grazed her neck…and he lowered his weapon. During the entire time, the expression on his face—one of iron—had not changed.

He threw her aside.

She landed on the ground, panting hard, catching her breath.

He turned to her and pointed the sword towards her. "I've…known you longer…than I would like to admit, right now. I know there is still some good in you…" His voice turned into a scarcely audible whisper, and then trailed off.

He turned to Evelyne, who had just knocked just out Julian with a massive Boomerang Step-Assaulter-Savage Blow chain. He couldn't have said anything to him even if he wanted to.

"C'mon, Evelyne," said Phil. "Let's go."

Then Phil left. Slowly.

Evelyne, who was dumbfounded by Phil's last actions, took one last glance at the two necromancers, staying behind long enough to hear the barely conscious Amy mutter "… Crimsonwood Keep…" then quickly followed Phil out of the Courtyard.


	4. Unfinished Business

Disclaimer: I do not own Maple Story

Author's Note: This chapter has things about the Crimsonwood Keep Party Quest (CWKPQ). I've never been to the Crimsonwood Keep (or the Mountains), much less done the Party Quest, so don't kill me if I get some details wrong. After all, it is a fanfic.

Ch. 4: Unfinished Business

The return had been a lot quicker and easier than the ascent, as they had been traveling downwards (a negative inclination, so to speak), and they had also become somewhat familiar with the weird place, though they still had to fight through the monsters and dodge the giant rolling-pins. However, they were able to "openly" help each other. Neither had any return scrolls or return capsules, so they had to walk the entire way, even through the subway (Evelyne hadn't brought along here motorcycle either).

Although it may have been only them, the place felt somewhat darker than when they went up. On another note, Phil's (and Evelyne's) instruments weren't working this time either.

When they returned to Kerning City after another trip through the Subway, and finally, the Omega Sector, the two commented about the whole trip, detailing as much as they could about what they had seen, such as the "Headless Horseman," the "Giant Rolling Pins," other monsters, the topography of the land, and the "castle". They confirmed that the monsters that were scene in the Kerning City/ New Leaf City invasion were the ones from the mountain that they had passed through. Phil also mentioned the "giant rolling pins," which were, in fact, as verified by Evelyne, were actually (giant) moving pillars. When the two finally reached the part about the fight, Evelyne noted that, just before they had left, she heard the female named Amy utter a "Crimsonwood Keep," which was the likely name of the place.

"So, who were those people who attacked you at the castle?" Brent asked.

Evelyne turned to Phil.

Just then, something beeped inside one of Phil's pockets. Everyone jumped.

Phil pulled out something from the pocket. It was his watch.

"Empress Cygnus paged me," he said in half-surprised, half-calm voice. "I have to go to Ereve."

"I'm coming with you," Evelyne said immediately.

"Uhm, why?" he asked, his tone almost suspicious.

"You've already been to Ereve once before. I wanna see it for myself, too!"

Phil looked at her skeptically, but said nothing.

"Can I, please?" she pleaded with puppy dog eyes.

"Oh, alright. Hold on, though."

-X-

Evelyne and Phil went through the Warp Portal, were met by Kyrin, and then they headed over to Ellinia.

As the two boarded the ship, Phil asked Evelyne "Why do you always follow me wherever I go?"

"Well, from what I've observed, all the places you go to are really interesting!" giggled Evelyne. "And, like I said before, I've never been to Ereve. I want to see what it's like."

"Well, it has these…" began Phil.

"No, don't tell me!" Evelyne cut in, covering up her ears with the palms of her hands. "I want to see it for myself!"

"Alright; you do that," muttered Phil, shifting his attention towards the window.

-X-

"This looks like a nice place," Evelyne said to Phil when they landed in Ereve. "Oh, look at that Noblesse! And don't those Tinos there look so cute!" She squealed, grabbing his arm.

"Uh, huh," replied Phil. Most of his attention and thoughts were still on the Crimsonwood Keep and the two people he had known. Although this was the second time he was in Ereve, he still wasn't used to this place. For Evelyne however, even though it was only her first time here, it felt like that it was her second home…or maybe even just _her home._ Indeed, she probably had already considered making it her home.

"Wait, how do you know what those things are called?" Phil suddenly asked her, breaking his own train of thought.

"I've seen pictures of them on the Omega Sector computers," Evelyne replied."Empress Cygnus is soooo pretty! I wish I could have clothes and jewelry like that!"

"Uh, huh," Phil replied again. He needed to talk to the Empress. Right now, she was talking to the man named Neinheart. As he walked closer to Empress Cygnus and Neinheart (with Evelyne following behind him) the Empress Cygnus and Neinheart saw him, and welcomed him.

"Well, hello there," greeted Empress Cygnus.

"Nice to see you again," the Tactician said to Phil. "Who's this you have here with you? Your girlfriend?"

"I don't have a girlfriend," Phil muttered under his breath. Then he replied "Her name is Evelyne. She wanted to see Ereve 'for herself'."

"Well, hello there Evelyne," Neinheart greeted Evelyne.

Evelyne said, "Thank you. And hello, uh…"

"Neinheart."

"Hello, Neinheart."

"Well, if you wanted to see Ereve, you've certainly come to the right place," said Empress Cygnus.

"Oh, uh, Empress Cygnus?" asked Phil. "I've been wanting to ask: what did you call me here for?"

"Oh, yes, that," she said. "Well, a Wind Archer has been planning something for some time, and he heard that some 'people dressed in black, had rifles that shot holy arrows, and wore sunglasses' saved Kerning City from the invasion. Obviously, it was you, Evelyne, and the rest of your group. He wondered if you could supply him with some information to help him."

"Always happy to help," replied Phil. "So…when's that Wind Archer coming?" looking around.

"I'm not sure, but he shouldn't take too long."

-X-

Phil and Evelyne went to the location where Empress Cygnus said the Wind Archer would meet him. Meanwhile, Evelyne commented on how 'cute' the Noblesses and Tinos were, and how much she liked the place

Phil didn't pay much attention to what she was saying. He was looking for the Wind Archer. Where was he?

A few moments later, the two saw a man carrying a golden crossbow—as he got a bit closer, a Dragon Shinebow—and wearing "high-leveled" equipment.

"Ah, sorry to be late," spoke the Wind Archer. "We had a few, well, technical difficulties, as you would probably say."

Phil just nodded.

"So, where are the rest of them?" Evelyne asked.

"They'll be coming in a few minutes," the Wind Archer replied. "Like I said, they—"

He was cut off when they were attacked by…something. The Wind Archer was knocked back a considerable distance. Evelyne was the next victim. It was about to be Phil's turn to be knocked back when he commanded "Stance!" and the support prevented him from being moved. When they recovered from the attack, which took only a moment, they looked around for the attacker. They saw what seemed to be like an ordinary person.

Phil and Evelyne were dumbfounded, but the Wind Archer immediately whispered "Oh no, it's The Master of Disguise!"

"How did _he_ get in here?" muttered the Wind Archer. Without waiting for an answer, he activated Eagle Eye and firing Wind Shot, and Hurricane. Phil grabbed his Void Hunter and began firing arrows as well, and Evelyne cast Shadow Partner and hurled storms of stars and knives.

"Baroq," was the Wind Archer's response as he sank dozens more arrows into the "ordinary person" with Hurricane. "Also known as 'The Master of Disguise'"

Phil tapped something on his sunglasses; Evelyne followed suit. Looking around, Phil and Evelyne pointed in the same direction and shouted in unison "That's The Master of Disguise!" (not that they knew exactly how this "Master of Disguise" should look like; both saw the same image, a relatively big man dressed in blue with yellow/gold) and all three redirected their attacks in that direction.

The Master of Disguise quickly emerged into its true form (the one that Phil and Evelyne saw), and Phil and Evelyne heard the Wind Archer say "Yup, that's him. Wind Shot, Final Attack!" and sank four arrows into Barog. He followed with a Hurricane attack, some arrows momentarily followed by a Final Attack. Phil and Evelyne also continued their attacks.

A minute or so later, The Master of Disguise turned and fled. The three chased after him, but the Master of Disguise left Ereve faster than they could catch him.

"Hope he doesn't come back," said Evelyne.

"He'll be back, someday," the Wind Archer sighed. "I'm sure of it."

They went back the way they came, and, just a couple minutes after returning, a large group of Cygnus Knights, all wearing and carrying "high-leveled equipment" came.

"Ah, here they are," exclaimed the Wind Archer.

-X-

In the next several minutes, Phil and Evelyne told the Cygnus Knights everything they knew about the "Crimsonwood Keep," the mountains, the "giant rolling pins"/ moving pillars, and the monsters there.

He turned to Evelyne. "What did you remember?"

"Well…"said Evelyne slowly. "It was, to say the least, scary."

"C'mon," said Phil. "Describe it better than it just being 'scary.'"

"Well, I don't know," said Evelyne. "It was dark. There wasn't much light. And there were these trees with faces on them that would, uh, attack you."

"What was that you said? Trees with faces that would attack you?" asked the Wind Archer, wide eyed.

Evelyne nodded. "There were these trees that had not leaves on them that would suddenly come alive and attack you; they would grab you with their branches and their roots would come up out of the ground and attack you, too." She glanced at Phil, who nodded as well.

"Yeah," said Phil. "When I first saw them, I thought they were all dead, like the ones in the Forest of Dead Trees in El Nath. But then they moved and attacked me. So be careful of those when you go there."

There was a silence for a few moments.

"Oh yeah, and be careful of the Phantom Forest itself," Phil added. "It's like a maze. Like I said, the trees move."

"The trees get up and move? Like those Stumps in Perion?"

"Oh, no. The trees are stationed. It's more like, well, when you move past an opening between trees, the trees will close the opening with the branches, and new paths will open."

"So the paths are constantly changing. And you could end up walking in circles."

"Right."

"So it's like a living labyrinth."

"Yeah."

"And don't the trees change color later on?" Evelyne asked.

"What? The trees change color?" the Wind Archer asked.

"Oh, no, the trees themselves don't 'change' color," Phil cleared. "What Evelyne meant was that, as you advanced through the Phantom Forest and get up onto the mountains, the trees you see are red instead of black."

"Oh; that's interesting," said the Wind Archer. "I wonder if it has to do with the environment or conditions or something."

"And at the top of the mountain, there was what seemed like a castle," said Phil.

"Actually, before I left, I heard the female, I think, utter 'Crimsonwood Keep,'" cut in Evelyne.

"Did those people live in there?"

"No, not at all," Phil quickly replied. "They were, more like, working for the people who are 'really' there.

"Have you been inside that castle, or, uh, keep?" the Wind Archer as them.

Phil shook his head. "Not really. I've only been at the courtyard. It had these statues... one of each class, I think. And perhaps a few more. I hadn't paid too much attention to the rest of the features of the Courtyard, as I was fighting most of the time."

"Well, that's good enough. We need this information since we're launching an assault against that place. We can take over for now."

"Wait, you're what?" exclaimed Evelyne.

"Launching an assault," repeated the Wind Archer, waving his hand once in the direction of the rest of the Knights behind him.

"You're launching an assault," Phil repeated. "Are you sure you want to do that?"

"Yeah. We've planned everything else out already, and we're prepared for it, too."

Phil and Evelyne nodded.

"It's time for Evelyne and me to leave," Phil said, looking at his watch. "See you guys later."

"Alright, see you later," replied the Wind Archer.

-X-

"Hey look," said Steven, "Evelyne and Phil are back."

"So, how did your date go with your girlfriend?" said Josh with a snide grin.

Phil glanced at Evelyne. She hadn't what Josh had said, as she was already chatting away with Celina.

"It wasn't a date," Phil mumbled exasperatedly. "And I don't have a girlfriend."

When they got down from the building and onto the "grass," Celina asked Phil "How did it go?"

Phil looked around, and then replied "This Wind Archer wants to launch an All-Cygnus Knights assault on the Crimsonwood Keep."

Josh's expression suddenly changed. "And Empress Cygnus and Neinheart allowed them?"

Phil nodded.

"Do they even know what they're doing?" asked Steven, almost shouting.

"For that, you may have to ask the Cygnus Knights themselves while applying truth serums to them," sighed Phil.

Phil looked at Brent, who had been quiet the entire time.

"Brent?"

"Uh, this may be a little off subject, but you never answered my question before you left," said Brent.

"What question?"

"Well, I asked you who were the people you and Evelyne fought, and from what Evelyne had said, it seemed that you knew each other."

Phil took a deep breath. Then after a pause, he replied, "Yes, I do know them. Too well." After another pause, he said, "They were my cousin and her boyfriend."

INSERT LINE HERE

The team of Cygnus Knights, led by the Wind Archer, quickly made their way past the Phantom Trees, their numbers and power easily overwhelming the monsters. They encountered Wraiths and Jr. Wraiths as well, but those were no problem to them either.

They had only gotten lost once in the "maze", but were prepared for it—after all, they knew about it.

Before they started up the Crimsonwood Mountain, they checked if everyone was still with them—everyone was.

The mountain was noticeably harder than the Phantom Forest. Although trees didn't dominate the area and close path ways and open new ones, there was much climbing to do. The monsters on the mountain were much stronger than the ones in the Forest. Also the moving pillars, or, as Phil called them, the "giant rolling pins" slowed them down a lot, often forcing them to stop and help another teammate so they could then continue.

They finally reached the Crimsonwood Keep. So far, they had lost no men (or women). Of course, many had taken damage and been injured, but an ample supply of potions kept and further harm at bay.

They were entered the Keep, fought their way through the Crimson Guardians, found Jack Barricade (and were extremely surprised,) and the older Barricade brother led the Cygnus Knights into the inner sanctum of the Keep.

The inner sanctum was no problem, as they quickly discovered the portal. The next room, Forgotten Storage Chamber, was no biggie either—the Knights easily found the right Sigils and activated them.

The Test of Agility was when the problems came, as the moving pillars, or "giant rolling pins" were great snags to them, along with the Sigils, as the. However, they were able to get through with the leadership of the Wind Archer.

The Test of Wit really proved to be a challenge, with the annoying fires and Blood Stirges. Once again, the Sigils were spread out with no specific designation, and there were also the "fake" Sigils.

The team, one way or another, managed to get to the next room, the Test of Unity, where they were separated into the different Mastery Rooms. It was challenging but eventually they got all the ancient weapons and repaired the giant statue.

It was in the Grandmaster Council Hall when the biggest problems came.

The mobs that preceded the Grandmasters, the Knights fought through like nobody's business.

The Grandmasters themselves, it was a different story.

It was a one sided massacre.

* * *

><p>Author's Note: Not sure which is more of a cliff hanger—the Cygnus Knights mission or Phil's story. However, you want to know the rest of Phil's story (for now), check out my one-shot "The Spy with Epilepsy."<p> 


End file.
